Tool for sharpening peelers



May 13, 1958 J. E. ADEL 2,

TOOL FOR SHARPENING PEELERS Filed June 21, 1956 J2 uezzor (WW W 12:

nited States Patent TOOL FOR SHARPENING PEELERS Johan Emil Adel, Chicago, Ill.

Application June 21, 1956, Serial No. 592,907 1 Claim. (Cl. 51-181) The present invention relates to an improved device for sharpening a variety of peelingimplements.

The prior art discloses numerous means for peeling and slicing potatoes, carrots and-a variety of other vegetables. Similarly to any other cutting edge, however, the edges of these cutting tools soon become dull, particularly where the purchased vegetables have dirt and grit embedded in the peel coating. The ability to sharpen the cutting edges of these tools is greatly restricted by the inaccessibility of the cutting edge .to a sharpening medium. Such inaccessibility is at least partly owing to the desire of the manufacturer of these tools to render the implement safe in the course of use. Thus the danger of the user accidentally being cut by the cutting .edge or edges of the peeler is rendered negligible.

It is an object of this invention to provide a sharpening instrument which is particularly adapted to sharpen the usually inaccessible edges of common kitchen implements for peeling and the like.

It is another object of this invention to provide a tool which enables both a rough and a fine sharpening operation to be performed on the edges of the kitchen implements.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a sharpening tool which is inexpensive to produce and of a sturdy but simple construction enabling it to have an indefinite .useful life.

It is another object of this invention to provide a sharpening tool which may be safely used withoutany danger of injury occurring.

The above and other objects of this invention will become apparent upon proceeding with the reading of the following detailed description and a study of the :accom-. panying drawing and the appended claim.

In one embodiment of this invention a sharpening implement is provided comprising an elongated rod-of hard metal such as casehardened steel. One end limit of the rod is allowed to retain its original cylindrical form and the opposed end limit is formed so as to define a projecting finger which is angularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of the rod. .A sleeve'member is fixedly secured to the periphery of the rod member intermediate the two end limits thereof and has a quantity of abrasive material embedded therein.

The cylindrical end limit of the rod is used to remove metal from opposed twin cutting edges disposed in substantially the same plane such as are found in a common type potato peeler. In the process the peeler is firmly positioned on a supporting surface and portions of metal are removed from the cutting edges by moving the rod thereover at an angle of about 45 degrees while pressing the rod against the surfaces to be sharpened.

The projecting finger of the rod member is used to sharpen a peeling instrument having a single cutting edge which has an opposed offset noncutting edge. The finger is disposed in the interval between the opposed edges and metal removed from the cutting edge as will hereinafter be explained in greater detail.

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After either of the above sharpening operations the abrasive disposed in the rod sleeve is used to remove burrs from the sharpened edge and thus provide a finishing operation which produces a keen razorlike edge.

For a more complete understanding of this invention reference should now be given to the drawing, wherein- Figure l is a perspective view of a sharpening tool made in accordance with the teachings of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the sharpening tool and a kitchen utensil being sharpened thereby;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the sharpening tool in elevation taken on line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the sharpening tool of Fig. '1 and the kitchen implement of Fig. .3 illustrating the manner in which .the abrasive of the sharpening tool isutilized;

Fig. .6 is a perspective view of a second type of kitchen implement illustrated in the course .of being sharpened by the tool .of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view illustrating the sharpening tool of Fig. 1 in elevation taken .on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Referring now :to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1, a sharpening tool 10 is illustrated which is adapted to sharpen the usually inaccessible cutting edges of peelers usually found in the kitchen. As will be noted from Fig. 1 the sharpener 10 comprises an elongated rodlike member .12 which is preferably composed of coldrolled steel which is carbon .treated and hardened for .the obvious purpose of enhancing its sharpening ability. It will 'be further noted from Fig. 1 that the lower end limit 114- .of the rod 12 is allowed to retain its original cylindrical shape, whereas the upper end limit 16 is notched sons to define a projecting finger 18 which is angularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of the rod 12 .as will be moreapparent from Fig. 5. Disposed intermediate the two end limits 16 and 14 of .the rod member 12 is .a sleeve 20 which is secured in immovable relationship to the periphery of the rod 12. Embedded in a portion .of the sleeve 20 is a disc of abrading material 22, the purpose .of which will hereinafter be made apparent.

As previously mentioned, ,the cutting edges of the ordinary household vegetable peeler are usually disposed in a nonaccessible position for sharpening .purposes. By inaccessible it is meant that the cutting edges of the tool are unable to be sharpened by :an ordinary sharpening stone or other similar device usually employed in the sharpening of knives and instruments having similarly exposed cutting edges.

Referring to Fig. 3, a common potato peeler 24 is illustrated comprising a handle member 26 in which is journaled a movable cutting member 28. The latter cutting member which is adapted to engage the vegetable to be skinned has two opposed cutting edges 30 which define an elongate slot 32 in the cutting portion28 of the implement. The slot 32 is so narrow as to avoid the possibility of a person inserting his finger between the two cutting edges and thereby receiving a serious cut. The narrow slot is also the most optimum width for peeling purposes. In accordance with the teachings of this invention, it has been found that if a rod of hard steel is reciprocally moved over each cutting edge of a kitchen implement in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3 while pressing the rod against the cutting edge, particles of metal will be removed from each edge so treated, resulting in the sharpening of the edges 30.

In the normal course of sharpening, the handle portion of the peeler 24 is engaged in a firm manner. The end of the cutting portion 28 of the peeler is fixedly positioned against a support surface, and the cylindrical end 14 of the sharpener 10 illustrated in Fig. 1 is disposed at an angle of approximately 45 relative to the horizontal axis of the peeler member and is also disposed at an angle of approximately 45 to the edge 30 being sharpened as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. It is thus seen that as the cylindrical end limit 14 of the sharpener is reciprocally moved over the edge portions of the peeler 24, the metal will be removed from the edge surfaces, producing a thin sharp cutting edge. The reciprocal movement of the sharpener 10 is easily carried out, and the peeler member 24 may be fixedly positioned by grasping the handle portion in one hand while the other hand engages the sharpener. It is obvious that the above do scribed angular relationship between the sharpener 10 and the edge 3% being sharpened is assumed for each of the two edges of the peeler 24.

Following the reciprocal movement of the sharpener it in accordance with the manner illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the cutting edges of the peeler 24 are sharpened. Rough metallic burrs which actually comprise displaced metal remain afiixed to the sharpened edge. Following the initial sharpening operation, therefore, these rough metallic burrs must be removed. This is accomplished by the abrasive disc 22 fixedly secured and embedded in the sleeve 2% which is, in turn, secured to the hard metal rod 12. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the abrasive disc 22 is disposed on the sharpened edges 30 of the peeler 24 and reciprocally moved thereover until the rough metallic burrs formed in the sharpening operation illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 have been removed. In the course I Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate the manner in which the sharpening tool it of Fig. 1 is utilized when a peeler having a single cutting edge therein is utilized. Such a peeler I 36 is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. As will be more apparent from the sectional view of Fig. 7 the metallic cutting portion of the peeler 36 has a cutting edge 33 which is disposed above an opposed depressed non-cutting edge 40. The latter two edges define the narrow 1ongitu dinal slot 42 more clearly seen in Fig. 6. The inaccessibility of the cutting edge 33 of the peeler 36 to sharpening stones and the like is believed apparent. To sharpen the latter edge, the upper end portion 16 of the rod member 12 illustrated in Fig. 1 is utilized. As previously mentioned, a projecting finger 18 defines the upper end limit of the sharpener 18 illustrated in the drawing. It will also be noted from Fig. 5 that the angular relationship between the finger 18 and the remaining portion of the rod member 12 is defined by a substantially V-shaped slot or groove 44, also shown more clearly in Fig. 5.

In the course of sharpening the edge 38 of the peeler member 36, the projecting finger 18 of the sharpener 10 is inserted in the slot 42 between the opposed edges 38 and 41 of the peeler 36. The finger 18 is inserted in such a manner that the outer surface of the projecting finger 18, that is, the surface of the finger disposed away from the V-shaped slot 44, contacts and slidably moves over the cutting edge 38 of the peeler 36 while in pressure contact therewith. The V-shaped groove 44 also functions as a guide in that it enables the blunt edge 49 of the peeler to ride therein in the course of the reciprocal movement of the sharpener member. It is apparent that in the course of the reciprocal movement metal is removed from the cutting edge 38 in the same manner in which metal is removed from the cutting edges illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. Following this metal removing operation, the polishing abrasive disc 22 is once more utilized by reciprocally moving the same over the surface of the cutting edge 38 until all metallic burrs are removed therefrom and a fine knife-like edge results. Thus, a novel sharpening tool has been provided which is particularly adapted to sharpen kitchen implements commonly found in the home. Although the sharpener provided is of simple construction, it is particularly adapted to engage those inaccessible edges found in peelers and other cutting instruments of this type. The sharpener member is obviously inexpensive to manufacture, safe to use and possesses an indefinite life.

I claim:

A sharpener adapted to sharpen cutting edges defining in part a narrow elongate slot, said sharpener com- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,034,794 Hayes Aug. 6, 1912 2,168,753 Smith Aug. 8, 1939 2,471,236 Parker May 24, 1949 2,674,072 Lohmann Apr. 6, 1954 2,713,758 Norkus July 26, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 5,972 Great Britain June 15, 1911 478,181

Great Britain Jan. 13, 1938 

